How to gesture naturally despite your nervousness
Question submitted from one of our members: When I give a standing presentation, I feel really uncomfortable and don’t know what to do with my hands. Can you share any tips?
Sheri’s Response: It can be difficult to gesture naturally when you are nervous. It’s important to create the best forum for allowing your gestures to occur naturally. Here are three tips that will help you relax and gesture naturally so you don’t have to worry about what to do with your hands:
- Keep your hands out of your pockets. Leave them at your sides to start and they will eventually begin to naturally gesture as you speak to one person at a time.
- Keep your hands unlocked. If you hold or clasp your hands, it locks up your energy and can make you look and feel more nervous. If you notice that your hands are locked, calmly unlock them and let them fall to your sides. They will begin to come up and gesture naturally if they are free to move.
- When you notice that you are not gesturing at all, consider the following: Body language is a reflection of your own conviction for the message. You will need to push your vocal energy by speaking louder and with more enthusiasm. The more excited your voice, the more your hands will be up and moving. The lower the energy in your voice, the lower your gestures will be. So, get excited!